Our little yard! There isn't much space for gardening, especially since we're surrounded by big trees, taller houses, and a hill. We've had to redo the flagstone and the French drain to keep our basement dry, so now I can finally concentrate on making it pretty and edible!

I built a little structure for the beans to climb on this weekend. Squash, strawberries, and nasturtiums are along the garage on the left. Excuse the dirty patio; I made quite a mess excavating the French drain and never really cleaned up after myself.

I didn't want to waste the green beans after thinning, so I put the extras in a container in the side yard. I also started some more lettuce and Thai basil.

It looks like it could be Morning Glory, which is pretty invasive. It does flower though, but climbs all over everything and chokes out other stuff.

From what I can tell, the leaves of this plant are thicker and more waxy than morning glory. Also a more olive-toned green and come to a sharper point. I really have no idea, though. Maybe! Thanks for the suggestion!

Our little yard! There isn't much space for gardening, especially since we're surrounded by big trees, taller houses, and a hill. We've had to redo the flagstone and the French drain to keep our basement dry, so now I can finally concentrate on making it pretty and edible!

I built a little structure for the beans to climb on this weekend. Squash, strawberries, and nasturtiums are along the garage on the left. Excuse the dirty patio; I made quite a mess excavating the French drain and never really cleaned up after myself.

I didn't want to waste the green beans after thinning, so I put the extras in a container in the side yard. I also started some more lettuce and Thai basil.

I love your patio garden, especially with those beautiful, mature trees! What a nice outdoor space.

veglicious, have you tested the pH of your soil? what are you feeding your plants? have you considered passive hydroponics-(growing in non soil media). for those of you growing in containers, are you using containers that can drain well? drill or poke some holes so the plants don't cook themselves.

mel c- i'm incredibly envious of that back patio area. so cute!

kids+gardens=squee. a sign of a healthy child is when they are dirty from playing outside!

i finally took a bunch of pics last night and will get them downloaded to flicker later. i've been juggling a bunch of other things in addition to my normal mommy duties.

I don't have pictures today because it's pouring rain (and will be all week) but I have BABIES! I have pea shoots, and wee little baby kales, and wee little baby lettuce, and radishes that shot up overnight, AND I have currents and gooseberries the size of peppercorns! The gooseberries are SO COOL because they're striped like gooseberries, only wee itty bitty. I won't get more than a handful of each this year, since I just put the bushes in last year, but I am totally psyched anyway!!

I don't have pictures today because it's pouring rain (and will be all week) but I have BABIES! I have pea shoots, and wee little baby kales, and wee little baby lettuce, and radishes that shot up overnight, AND I have currents and gooseberries the size of peppercorns! The gooseberries are SO COOL because they're striped like gooseberries, only wee itty bitty. I won't get more than a handful of each this year, since I just put the bushes in last year, but I am totally psyched anyway!!

My dad gave me 8 assorted tomato plants, 3 tomatillos, and lots of onion sets when I visited him this weekend. And yesterday I bought 50 gallons of VEGAN compost for $15 at a local garden store and put together my second garden frame. I'm in garden heaven.

My dad gave me 8 assorted tomato plants, 3 tomatillos, and lots of onion sets when I visited him this weekend. And yesterday I bought 50 gallons of VEGAN compost for $15 at a local garden store and put together my second garden frame. I'm in garden heaven.

Ooh question... I didn't visit my plot in a little longer than I should have, and when I went yesterday I noticed my mustard greens were bolting a little. I picked off all the flower heads... That is the thing to do usually right? Reading through a google search it seems to be that many people just give up entirely if that happens, pull the entire plant. I tasted the leaves, sure, they're a bit bitter I suppose but they're still tasty, and with dressing the bitterness won't be noticeable. Anyhow, google said nothing about clipping off bolt-heads but I swear I've read before that's the thing to do to slow it down.

Ooh question... I didn't visit my plot in a little longer than I should have, and when I went yesterday I noticed my mustard greens were bolting a little. I picked off all the flower heads... That is the thing to do usually right? Reading through a google search it seems to be that many people just give up entirely if that happens, pull the entire plant. I tasted the leaves, sure, they're a bit bitter I suppose but they're still tasty, and with dressing the bitterness won't be noticeable. Anyhow, google said nothing about clipping off bolt-heads but I swear I've read before that's the thing to do to slow it down.

I clip the heads off my basil to slow down bolting, but haven't tried it with mustard greens. Last year I just let them go, and they ended up with a ridiculous infestation of white flies. I guess mustard greens + super hot summer = white flies! This year I'm going to make sure I harvest them before that happens!

_________________I'm not asking for utopian dreams...just a little peace in this world. That's a logical thing. - Deee-Lite

This thread is fantastic! I love seeing all the different set ups. I'll post some photos soon, I've gone from a balcony mini-garden to having a proper garden & a courtyard. Right now I'm trying to identify all the plants that are already here, there's such a random mix: roses, succulents, a grape vine, murraya and other ones I can't identify.